Who's got a bucket?
by Ehren Hatten
Summary: The Space Case Crew finds an odd girl after Radu nearly has a weird sensory breakdown. The Christa is being destroyed by some kind of virus and a meglamaniacal Spine-Head is after the Christa. COMPLETED!
1. Sensory Breakdown

Space Cases  
  
By: Ehren Hatten  
  
"Who's Got a Bucket?"  
  
Part One  
  
Radu sat on his bed in the boys quarters on the Christa. He was wondering about something he had been hearing for the past couple of days coming from outside the ship. He could hear a girl's voice unknown to him and hear a sound that was like a ship's engines humming. He always dismissed it, but he could still hear that voice. It was as if it was in his head. Then, he started to think that maybe Suzee was part of it. Then, he dismissed that option. Suzee didn't like going into people's heads.  
  
Harlan came into the area and saw an opportunity to play a gag on Radu. Not exactly, though. He was just going to startle him. "HEY CINNAMON BUNS FOR EARS!" Radu didn't even turn. He just stayed in his spot on his bunk. This wouldn't be any fun if the guy wasn't paying attention. How could he not hear Harlan anyway? Radu could hear everything. Harlan stalked closer to Radu. Radu still didn't even turn.  
  
Harlan got infront of Radu and waved his hand in front of Radu's eyes. "Yoo hoo... Christa to Raduuuu..." He even snapped his fingers, still nothing. Harlan finally gave in. He got his books and walked out of the room.  
  
Radu suddenly jumped and fell on the floor with a loud yelp. "Who called me `cinnamon buns for ears'?" He rubbed his backside as he realized what had happened. It was Harlan. The voice still rang in his head, but Harlan mixed in with the voice.  
  
Harlan walked into "Davenport's Den of Doom", which was inevitably the classroom, but that was just one of the many names they like to call it. He found Suzee sitting and typing something on a compupad. Harlan sat next to her slyly and casually looked over her shoulder. "Whatcha doin, Suzee..."  
  
Suzee jumped and almost dropped her compupad. She glared at Harlan and closed her compupad nonchalantly. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with, Harlan."  
  
Harlan wouldn't let that stop him. "I thought I saw something about strange stuff going on in the engine room." He was congratulating himself on his good snoop work.  
  
Suzee's expression was unchanging. "As a matter of fact, yes... We seem to be having some trouble with the crystals. They seem to be making odd noises and not even THELMA knows what the hell is going on. YOU wouldn't know anything would you?"  
  
Harlan stopped grinning and coughed. "No.... I don't think I would."  
  
"Well... maybe you would like to put your expertise into helping me figure out why they are making these noises."  
  
"Uh..." Harlan had to think a moment. He might be able to do something, but engineering was not his thing. He was a pilot and a commander, not an engine doctor. "Certainly."  
  
Suzee narrowed her eyes at him and went back to her compupad. "After class then. It isn't critical anyway."  
  
Bova was sleeping on his seat in the classroom and Rosie did her best to keep him awake. Radu sat alone, trying to keep up with his notes, but always seemed to go into a daze. Harlan and Suzee sat together, Suzee taking notes and Harlan copying from her. Suzee every now and again took a quick glance at Radu as he inevitably would space out and realize it. She knew it wasn't his normal behavior, even in class with Miss Davenport going on about certain solar systems and their water systems.  
  
Miss Davenport caught Radu's odd behavior as well. "Radu... Is something wrong?"  
  
Radu snapped out of his umpteenth dazefest. He grinned sheepishly at Miss Davenport and looked as if he were about to hit his head repeatedly against his compupad. "Uh... No Miss Davenport, I'm fine..." The voice in his head was getting louder. He knew he wasn't fine, but the voice said something about not letting his crewmates know about this just yet.  
  
Davenport narrowed her eyes at Radu. She knew better. "Radu... I want you to go the infirmary at once. Have THELMA check you out, and if you are still fit to be in class right now, come back and please pay more attention."  
  
Harlan stifled a snicker and Radu shot him a dangerous glare. Radu picked up his books and compupad and walked out of the classroom.  
  
Radu arrived at the sickbay and lay down on the medical bed. THELMA walked in and smiled. "Hello Radu... Are you not feeling well?"  
  
Radu sighed and stared up at the ceiling. "I don't know."  
  
THELMA walked closer and stuck a finger in his ear. He knew she was just taking his temperature, but it was uncomfortable. She then took it out and looked at it. "Your temperature is just fine. IT is perfect for an Andromedan."  
  
Radu sat up and rubbed his temples. The voice was on the verge of screaming. He could make out what she was saying. Well, almost. It still was unclear. THELMA looked at him blankly. "I'm fine THELMA. Am I fit to go to class?"  
  
THELMA looked at him blankly and smiled just as blankly. "Technically, you are fit. Judging by your movements, the Christa says you are not."  
  
"I'm fine THELMA, I just have a headache."  
  
She walked to the nearby table and grabbed a bottle of pills. "In that case, take two of these and tell the Christa about your condition in the morning." With that last note, THELMA walked out and turned the corner.  
  
Radu glanced down at the two pills in his gloved hand. "Take two pills and call me in the morning." He was saying something that Harlan said not that long ago. He guessed that THELMA had told him to go to bed and try to sleep off his weird voice. He obligingly took the two white pills and walked to the nearest jumptube to the boy's bunkroom.  
  
Radu ended up in the hallway to the mess hall. He found that it was lunchtime and everyone was there. He decided to get something in his stomach before he would try to figure his voice out.  
  
Harlan looked up and grinned. Suzee stared at Radu and seemed as though she was summing up his condition. "Hello, Radu. Are you feeling any better?" Suzee narrowed her eyes at him.  
  
"Yeah... I.. I'm fine..." He waved his hand walked over to the food wheel. He spun the wheel and pulled out his "food". It was dehydrated. He walked over to the table and poured the contents of the food cylinder onto the plate. He then added two drops of water onto his powdered food and watched it become some nutrition food that the Christa had thought up for him.  
  
Harlan looked at Radu's meal and grimaced. "I wouldn't eat that for all the gold in Fort Knox." Then, he continued to eat.  
  
Radu just glanced at Harlan and took a fork to his food. Radu didn't feel much like eating. The voice kept creeping up in volume. IT was starting to make his head feel as if it were about to split in two. Radu put his hands to his ears to try to calm the voice down. He tried to shut it out, but it kept getting louder. Radu screamed and fell off his chair. He rolled in agony on the floor with his hands pressed against his ears. "STOP! STOP SCERAMING! I CAN HEAR YOU! STOP SCREAMING, PLEASE!"  
  
Suzee and Harlan stood up and grabbed Radu by the arms. "RADU! RADU!"  
  
Radu wouldn't take his hands from his ears. Blood seemed to be seeping from his hands. Radu continued to scream. The voice was getting louder. Finally, Radu went limp as he lost consciousness.  
  
Harlan tried to pick Radu up, but Radu was too heavy for him alone. Suzee helped in trying to get Radu up. THELMA came in and picked Radu with ease and took him to the infirmary.  
  
Radu stood in a darkened room, gazing into the inky blackness of the room. He saw someone started to come closer, but couldn't make out their face. It was a girl about the same age as Harlan and about as tall. He squinted to make out the girl's face. Suddenly, she was gone.  
  
Radu looked around and finally found her standing infront of him. She was taller than him by about an inch. She had a regal look to her face. The shape reminded him of Elmira. She looked human except for her long green hair. Her bangs were slightly chunked in her eyes almost, starting from her part where eyebrows began and went down to her cheekbones. Her eyes were of the purest blue and she stared at him as if she could see right through him. She wore a gray uniform that looked like what his shipmates wore. The zipper on the front was unzipped to under her breasts. Her neck and clavicle were exposed and he could make out strange black symbols starting on her neck and continuing into her white tank top. She smiled at him.  
  
"Hello?" his voice almost a whisper. She pulled back a lock of green hair behind her ears. Her ears were slightly pointed like that of some imaginary Earth creature called an elf.  
  
She put up a hand to him and brought up his hand as she did so. He kept his hand up and watched in amazement as her hand went through his as her hand turned into water. "Find the pod. I am stuck inside and am in need of help. You and your friends are in grave danger."  
  
Radu suddenly, came to and found that he was lying on the medical bed. He sat up as best as he could and rubbed his head. "What happened...."  
  
Suzee walked up and kneeled to him. "You had some weird episode of screaming. You said stop screaming, I can hear you. Then, you blacked put." She was running a scanner over him and found something odd. "Hmmm... THAT's odd."  
  
Harlan walked over and raised an eyebrow as he looked at the scanner. "What's wrong, Suzee?"  
  
"It seems as though Radu has a friend that is invisible as well."  
  
Bova sighed and slapped his forehead. "Figures. We just had to get another one."  
  
Radu ignored Bova. "What do you mean, Suzee."  
  
"I mean, Radu, that you seem to have the same type of thing that me and Catalina have. You have someone talking to you through several dimensions." She thought for a moment as she listened to Catalina talk. "No, Cat... I know it can't be anyone on Yensid. No one there would do anything like that except me of course."  
  
"The girl talking to me... She said that we were in grave danger. She said that we had to find some kind of pod or ship." Radu could feel the silence in his head. It was a relief to what had been happening to him for the past few days.  
  
"How! If she's in another dimension, how could we even find her! It's a trap, I tell you. We're gonna die!" Bova the conspirist had to say his piece.  
  
"Bova, we aren't going to die. She, whoever she is, needs our help and we need to give it to her." Harlan snapped at Bova.  
  
"I am not entirely sure she is in another dimension." Radu said as he sat with his eyes focused elsewhere. He could still remember the girl's face. He could still see the symbols on her right side on into her flight suit. He listened to a faint singing and the sound of strange engines. "She isn't far. I can hear her."  
  
"Well, then... Let's find this mysterious girl, shall we!" Harlan looked as giddy as a schoolboy who was about to receive a new toy. They all ran to the nearest jumptube and went to the bridge. They all took their respective posts.  
  
Radu took his post and listened to the sound of the girl breathing. Except, she wasn't breathing. He could hear some kind of respiratory action being performed, but it wasn't hers. IT was the sound of the ship's engines. Her ship's engines. It sounded as though her ship were alive.  
  
Harlan started the ship's engines and prepared the ship for jumping. "Suzee! Are we ready to jump!"  
  
"Yes, Harlan!"  
  
"Radu! Rosie! Can you find the ship!"  
  
Rosie couldn't find it on her scanners. "No, Harlan.... It isn't showing up anywhere on these charts!"  
  
Radu realized why. "It's a living ship! Scan for tech-living organisms!"  
  
Rosie did just that and heard a squeal from the console in response. "I have her, Harlan! She's in Sector thirty-four by five by two! Sending information to the other consoles!"  
  
Harlan got the information and programmed the crystals to go that way. The Christa's head scrunched up against the back and the wings retracted. Then, She flew off toward the ship in its data banks.  
  
Freya felt the on coming of another ship. She felt the on coming of Radu. She floated in her suspended animation pod, the water inside flowing through her long green hair; it was quite relaxing for her. The sensors in her ship were starting to register a ship coming closer to hers.  
  
She opened her mind to her ship's controls and found something that terrified her. It wasn't the Christa coming to her aid. It was her people's worst and foremost enemy. It was scanning the area for her. She knew that if the Christa didn't show up soon, her ship would be destroyed along with her. She sent her mind to Radu's and let one word touch his mind before she had to put her energy to working her console. Shekra.  
  
Radu snapped from another glazed over moment. "Shekra... Shekra...What the hell is Shekra..." He whispered the name over and over again. He only caught images that the girl was seeing. A monstrous ship was firing at her. "Oh no.... Harlan...! Harlan! Someone has gotten to her first, step up the speed! She's being fired at!"  
  
"WHAT!?"  
  
"Just do it! I don't how much longer she keep going!" Radu was feeling a twinge of panic. He was frightened for her. She was being strong for them. He could feel her emotions.  
  
"All right, man! I'm increasing speed. Suzee! Increase power flow! Keep those engines working for me!"  
  
"GOT IT HARLAN!"  
  
The Christa got to its destination. Bova started firing on the vessel that was firing on Freya's ship. Harlan continued flying the Christa towards Freya's vessel. Freya's vessel however, was in shambles. She crawled to her console dripping wet from the suspended animation pod and pulled herself in her chair.  
  
She fired what she could and fainted on her console. The water from the pod seeping into the machinery, starting a small fire.  
  
Finally, the strange vessel flew off and disappeared. Harlan and the rest of the crew panted and sighed in relief from the fight. "Let's go over and get the girl." Harlan stepped down from his console.  
  
Radu followed suit and Suzee followed as well. Miss Davenport watched them and Commander Goddard go over to Freya's ship. They opened the airlock and Radu walked inside. He looked around seeing only smoke and hearing nothing but a fire crackling and live wires cracking and popping. Harlan came in, then Suzee, followed by Commander Goddard.  
  
"Radu be careful. There is live electricity flowing through this ship and I think a fire is in the cockpit." Commander Goddard pulled some wiring from a panel and started to locate the data banks.  
  
"I'll be fine, Commander..."  
  
"Radu... I'm coming with you." Harlan jogged up behind Radu and held his rifle ready for anything.  
  
Radu hit a button to the cockpit and the door slid open. Radu looked around and was suddenly hit by a thick cloud of smoke. He heard her moaning softly through the noises of the fire and the ship itself as it started to break down. He ran inside and followed her sounds. He lightly touched surfaces to find his way through the smoke. He finally found something soft that felt alive. He got closer and looked at her face. It was she, and a strange, furry animal, that looked like a black cat, was on her shoulder. It hissed and growled at him. She was bruised and scratched pretty badly. And She was soaked through, as well. He picked her up and the animal ran towards Harlan. "Harlan! Grab that animal coming towards you!"  
  
Harlan jumped as the cat like creature jumped onto his shoulders and crouched as it watched Radu coming closer. "Uh...Radu... I don't think it likes you."  
  
Radu walked out of the cockpit, carrying her. Harlan looked at the girl and smiled. "She's pretty cute. I didn't know you had such luck, man!" Harlan chuckled and hit Radu on his shoulder.  
  
Radu smirked and then felt the whole ship begin to fall apart. The ship shuddered and squealed. "Let's get out of here! She's going to blow apart!"  
  
"Gotcha, man!" Harlan and Radu ran back to Suzee and Commander Goddard. They were waiting in the tube.  
  
"COME ON BOYS! WE HAVEN'T ANY MORE TIME TO DAUDLE!" Commander Goddard shouted at the top of his lungs, choking as the smoke tried to fill them instead of air.  
  
They ran through the tube, jumping into the airlock and hitting the "close" button. Commander Goddard hit his link. "THELMA! GET US OUT Of HERE!"  
  
The Christa responded and they jumped just as Freya's ship exploded.  
  
To be continued.... 


	2. Admiral Chen

Chapter Two  
  
The Christa finally stopped and the crew yet again breathed a collective sigh of relief. Elmira sat in the girls' bunkroom in a meditative state. She saw the entire ordeal. She was now seeing something else entirely. She watched as the girl named Freya fought against an unknown adversary. She watched as the entire crew of the Christa fought with her. Then, she saw something she had never thought possible. Water splashing. As if a mighty sea washed the galaxy clean. She couldn't figure it out. It was as if someone were trying to keep her from "seeing" anything. She opened her eyes and saw that everything was the way it should be now. She sighed and got of her bed.  
  
Radu leaned his head against the wall of the airlock. He still had the girl in his arms, to be exact, she was on his lap, out cold. Harlan had the strange cat like creature on his head. It purred softly. Radu looked down upon the girl's face. She looked slightly different from what he had seen in his head. She looked younger and thinner. He looked at her ears. They had the small points on the tips, like an elf. He moved the high collar of her flight suit a little bit away from her neck and saw gill slits like on Suzee. Even her hair was longer and she didn't have the strange marks on her body. He looked up at Harlan and saw that annoying grin that he always got when he thought of something to pick at Radu with. "What Harlan..."  
  
The smile got bigger. "Why nothing, Radu..."  
  
Radu knew better. Harlan kept grinning at him. "Radu.... You like her don'tcha.."  
  
Radu raised an eyebrow at him with a very stunned look on his face. "N-No...I don't l-like her.." Radu was getting angry at Harlan's stupid grin.  
  
Commander Goddard grinned at the two boys and looked over at Suzee. She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Boys, boys... Why don't we just get out of the airlock before we accidentally space ourselves..." Commander Goddard said trying not to laugh.  
  
Harlan got to his feet and the cat creature jumped down to his shoulders. Radu picked up the girl and stood. Harlan still had that same grin spread across his face. Suzee glared at them both and glared at the girl. She remembered that they did almost the same thing when she came aboard.   
  
They got to the sick bay and Radu set the girl down on the examination table. THELMA walked in and smiled blankly at the dusty crew assembled. Bova, Rosie and Miss Davenport walked in afterward. She then looked down at Freya. "Who is this?"  
  
Everyone looked at eachother questioningly. "We don't know." Commander Goddard shrugged.  
  
"H-her name is Freya."  
  
Everyone looked around and then turned to Radu who was in a corner by himself like he normally did. "What?", asked Miss Davenport.  
  
Radu now felt like jumping out an airlock. It would be a more pleasant feeling that what everyone was making feel like. He felt more like a bit of bacteria in a petri dish being examined. "I-I said her name is Freya.."  
  
Harlan was grinning at him again. He was his friend, but Radu knew that he enjoyed watching him quiver like a bug sometimes. Suzee hit him in the ribs with her compupad. Goddard walked over to Radu looking stunned. "Do you know this girl?"  
  
Radu started to remember what the girl looked like in his vision. How his hand went through hers like a hand through a pool of water. "N-not really.. she was in m-my mind when I lost consciousness....I-I think she's...."  
  
"Hmm.... Very interesting.... She's very much a water based lifeform..." THELMA continued to study Freya.   
  
Goddard walked over to THELMA and let his mouth drop open again. He closed it and started to remember what he was going to say. "A...A what?"  
  
THELMA opened Freya's flight suit and pulled the top part down to her waist. She was not wearing a white tank top like in the vision. She was wearing a very soaked, very red, short sleeved T-shirt. THELMA moved the girl's head from side to side as she inspected the gills on her neck. THELMA looked as if she were just cleaning a bulkhead, which was the basic blank expression she generally wore. "She can apparently breath under water...." She was indicating the gills.  
  
Suzee walked over toward the body and got a closer look at Freya's gills. "Well.. she deffinitly isn't from Yensid..."  
  
Suddenly, Freya's eyes opened with a spark and she grabbed Suzee by the neck. She had amazing strength and got up with just as much spark while still holding Suzee captive. "Who are you..." Her voice was harsh and low. She stared angrily at everyone assembled.   
  
Radu came out from his corner and got closer towards the front. Freya let go of Suzee and threw her towards Harlan. She wasn't snarling anymore. She looked around at everyone and then spotted Radu. "I knew it....", she muttered.  
  
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to do that.." She looked around at everyone and then started to giggle self-consciously. "Who'dda thought that I'd attack someone of the Christa crew...*giggle*!"  
  
She looked down and saw that only thing keeping the pants portion of her flight suit on was her belt and blushed furiously. "OOPS! Um... D-does anyone have any clothes I can wear?"  
  
Goddard puffed up his chest and walked towards Freya and glared at her menacingly. "How dare you attack one of my students and then ask where.."  
  
Freya cut him off. "I was only askin, guy. I didn't mean to infringe upon yer sensibilities by asking if I could barrow something dry."  
  
Radu and Harlan smirked and stifled their laughter. Goddard turned on them and glared them to a halt. He turned back to Freya who was playing with her wet green hair absent-mindedly. "*Achem!*"  
  
She turned back to Goddard and smiled. "Is something wrong?"  
  
"Yeah! I want to know why you attacked my crew and why you sent a message to Radu and ... ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME!"  
  
Freya was looking around and then turned back to Goddard with a smile. "Did you know that yer wrinkles show when yer angry?"  
  
Goddard smacked his forehead and stalked back to where he was before, rubbing his temples. Miss Davenport walked up and tried her best to look authoritative. "Um... p-please tell us w-why you wanted us to find you...."  
  
"Why? Um... I guess you were the only ship in the area I could reach with my mind." She looked over at Radu and she sat down, her chin in her hands. She looked back at Miss Davenport. "NEXT QUESTION!"   
  
Miss Davenport nearly jumped to the next deck when Freya shouted. "Um.... Why..why...uh..."  
  
"Spit it out lady... I'm getting cold here."  
  
Miss Davenport walked back to the crew and sat with Goddard rubbing HER temples as well. Harlan smirked and congratulated the girl silently. He stepped up and smiled his best smile. "Hi... My name is Harlan Band. I'm the captain of this vessel. I was wondering...."  
  
"Yes?..." Freya smiled her best smile.  
  
"Did you by any chance find out what Radu likes in his girlfriends when you were in his head? I'm sure Suzee, the one you basically gave new meaning to "strangle sensation", and his current girl, Elmira, would most like to see what their chances truly are." Radu blushed a deep shade of crimson.   
  
Freya giggled. "No... I'm sorry... I can't answer that one.... All I did was tell him how to find me.... Or was that to just find my pod..arrgggh! I am so bad with my memory..." She held her hands on the sides of her head.  
  
THELMA came in and walked up to Freya and smiled her blank smile. Freya raised an eyebrow. "Eh? What the hell are you."  
  
"I am THELMA..It stands for.."  
  
"Boredom if you ask her again.", drawled Bova.  
  
Freya stood and looked THELMA over. "An android....how clever...Are you linked with this ship?"  
  
"Yes I am..."  
  
Suzee stepped forward and smiled. She still rubbed her throat, but it didn't hurt anymore. Freya looked at her hand at her throat and frowned. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to hurt anyone..."  
  
Suzee smiled even wider. She looked nervous. "OH! It's alright, really.. um... what species are you Freya?"  
  
"Me? Oh... I'm from the planet Selar...It's...well.. a very long ways away from here..."  
  
"Oh? They're a long way from their planets as well... I was just looking at the schematics of your ship that was blown to bits after we retrieved you.... It seems you use bio-technological ships?" Suzee was very nervous. Normally she wouldn't be, but after being manhandled by Freya, she was a little terrified of her strength.  
  
"Yes, we use living ships so to speak.. The Shekra. Um.. they don't like us too much."  
  
"I'll say.. you caused us more problems than we started out with when we last fought the Spung." Bova again felt the need to add his thoughts.  
  
"The Spung...?"  
  
"You don't know about the Spung?" Suzee said in a flat tone.  
  
"Um... Could I get some dry clothes please?" She had ducked behind Suzee and pointed to her chest where now she was obviously cold.  
  
Suzee blushed and grabbed a nearby blanket and handed it to her. "Here."  
  
"Thanks." Freya wrapped the blanket around her and sat down.  
  
Radu got closer and wrung his hands nervously. "I.. I think she ought to go get some clothes and let her eat something before we start questioning her again."  
  
"Oh it's you! I was wondering when you were going to join the conversation." Freya smiled at him.  
  
"Um..yeah...My name is Radu..I'm an Andromedan.." He started to try to meld with the wall.  
  
Rosie came up and cheerfully smiled at Freya. "My name is Rosie. That is Bova over there yawning, those two adults over there would be Miss Davenport and Commander Goddard, you know Suzee and Harlan...Welcome to our ship!"  
  
  
Freya shifted her new clothes around and played with the flaps and the zipper. She was wearing another red T-shirt under her new flight suit. She looked up and saw Harlan come in. "Hello..."  
  
Harlan smiled. She went back to playing with her zipper. She looked up at him again. "What's on yer brain then."  
  
"Oh uh..I wanted to congratulate you on some fine work."  
  
She raised an inquisitive eyebrow at him. "Eh?"  
  
"No one's ever made Goddard and Davenport get a migraine at the same time just by talking to one person."   
  
Suzee walked in and she looked at Harlan with Freya. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Harlan didn't see her. Freya sensed Suzee and smiled. She turned and looked over to Suzee. "Hello! Why did you look at Harlan like that? Did he say something wrong to you?"  
  
Suzee jumped and promptly had a horrifying realization. "Uh.. heh.. I was just uh... walking to the um... Next uh... jump tube?" It isn't just Radu that she can read! Gah! If she can read me, then she can read everyone else!, Suzee thought.  
  
Harlan seemed amused at Suzee blushing the way she was. She's cute when she's embarrassed, he thought. "What's cute?", came an innocent voice behind him.  
  
Harlan blushed even deeper than Suzee and Suzee smirked at his plight. "Wha?"  
  
"You said that she was cute when she was embarra.." She never finished her sentence. Harlan had a hand on her mouth faster than even Suzee could comprehend.  
  
"Heh heh... Uh...." He got close to her ear and muttered through clenched teeth, "Are you reading my mind?" She nodded and smiled underneath his hand. Harlan let her go and stepped backwards. "She can read my thoughts.. uh oh."  
  
Suzee looked at him and started giggling. Harlan smiled nervously and ran away from the room they were in. Suzee rounded on Freya. "You never told us that you are telepathic!"  
  
"I didn't? Oops!"  
  
Suzee smacked her forehead and looked around. She focused her attention on Freya. "I am telepathic as well. I suggest that you do what I do and keep a shield up."  
  
"Why? You all don't have anything to hide do you?" She was starting to sound suspiciously devious now. Suzee didn't like this at all. She was starting to wonder if Freya was much smarter than she looked.  
  
"They're all used to privacy. They are not telepathic and they are NOT used to other people being in their brains."   
  
"Why not?"   
  
Suzee now felt like hitting her head on a bulkhead. She was beginning to drive her crazy! She closed her eyes and started to breathe slowly.   
  
Freya smirked slightly. Then, she suddenly felt something outside. "Oh shit....", she said slowly.  
  
Suzee's eyes snapped open and she stared at Freya. "Freya... what's wro.."  
  
There was a sudden explosion and the Christa shuddered from the impact. Suzee was almost thrown across the room, but was surprised by Freya when she grabbed her arm and held her to her spot. "You alright?" Freya looked concerned now. Her blue eyes looked angry.  
  
"Y-yeah.. I'm fine... What was that!" Freya had let go of Suzee's arm and Suzee looked around. She took out her compupad and linked with the engine room computers. "Oh no... I need to get down to the engine room!"   
  
Suzee exited the room and ran to the nearest jump tube. Freya walked out of the room and looked around. She put her hand behind her head at the nape of her neck and tapped something. Her eyes went red and she looked around at the hallway. She saw minute fissures forming in the bulkheads. "Damn.."   
  
She clicked the same button and her eyes went blue again. She looked around again and ran for the nearest jumptube. She set her destination and went in.  
  
  
"Screen! Lets see what the hell is attacking us!" The screen came down and the image of a very sharp and angular ship appeared. "Damn, it's one of those ships that was attacking Freya's ship!"  
  
"Harlan! The hull has taken a very weird hit! I don't get it!" Radu looked at the engineering readouts.  
  
"That's because you're not accustomed to their weaponry!", came an eerily cheerful voice from the door. Freya entered and smiled. "Hiya peoples!"  
  
"That's what attacked you, right?" Harlan was looking nervously at the ship.  
  
"Yeppers!" Freya nudged Radu from the engineering console and started adjusting the crystals. She put her hand on the nape of her neck again and ducked underneath the console. She plugged a wire to the receiver on her neck and stood back up. "Ready... Suzee? How is the weather down there!"  
  
Suzee's startled voice came from some weird intercom. "Wha? Huh? Is that you Freya? How are you talking to me!"  
  
"Don't worry about that now... just tell us how much is damaged down there!" Harlan was starting to get the gist of what was going on.  
  
"We've got a couple of damaged crystals. Cat and I are trying to figure how much power we've got."  
  
"Harlan! They're coming around again!" Radu was looking at his readouts.  
  
"We're doomed!", Bova put it.  
  
"They're hailing us!"   
  
Suddenly, a gaunt man with grayish skin and spines were coming out of his forehead and into his black hair. "Surrender yor vessel...", he said silkily, "...or you will be destroyed...." 


	3. Water Girl

"Who's got a bucket?"  
  
  
Chapter Three  
  
  
  
"Surrender yor vessel... or you will be destroyed...." The gaunt man's eyes gleamed with malice.  
  
"You know something.... I'm getting' mighty tired of you chasin' after me!" Freya was starting to get angry.   
  
"Freya... you know this guy?" Harlan was noting that she looked at him with an "if looks could incinerate" glare.  
  
"Yeah... I know him... he's an asshole who won't take no for an answer!", she growled. She was gripping the console with her hands, her knuckles white.  
  
"Well... do you know how to disable him, then?" Goddard was now starting to think clearly. He ran a hand through his short-cropped graying hair. It was a new style for him. It was spiky when his hand went through, instead of laid back.  
  
"Yes.. I do... Well.... okay sort of.... but not with this stuff....I'ld have to help modify yer weapons systems to compensate." She was busy rerouting energy to the forward weapons and making the lasers phase slightly.  
  
Bova started as he saw the weapons systems on his console start to change. "Um.. sir...there's something weird going on with the forward weapons sys--"  
  
Freya interrupted him. "I'm doing nothing more than helping ya'll...okay... I'm done!"  
  
Bova stared at the console wide eyed. "Whoa...."  
  
Radu heard something that made him start. He tried to focus the noise and find where it came from, but he couldn't. "What the--", he muttered.  
  
He then felt a surge of some sort and realized why. He looked over at Freya and she fell backward. She was still connected to the computer console. He ran over and helped her up as well as Bova, who was closer.   
  
Then, the ship shuddered from the impact of another weapon hitting the Christa. Radu pulled Freya up and turned to Bova. "Get back to your console!"  
  
"Bova! Can you fire?!", bellowed Goddard.  
  
Bova reached his console and read the readout. "Yes Commander!"  
  
"Fire..."  
  
The forward lasers hit the Shekra vessel numerous times. It shuddered from the impacts and then it was silent. The ship didn't do anything. "Maybe he's biding his time....", muttered Harlan. He looked over at Radu who was lightly slapping Freya's cheek with his gloved hand. "Is she alright?"  
  
Freya opened her eyes and caught Radu's hand in one deft move. "I'm fine." She let go of his hand and started to get up and then wobbled slightly. "Whoa!" She caught the console and brought herself back up. "That was a rush..."  
  
"What happened, Freya..." Goddard was regarding her.  
  
"Nothing much.... Christa getting used to me is all... " She smiled cheerily. "I think....."  
  
"You think!?" Goddard was getting nervous from the thought that something had really happened. The last thing he needed was the only other person on board that could help them against the ship before them on the screen to get hurt.  
  
Freya put her hand to the wire connecting her to the console and unplugged herself. She walked around the console and then started to stare into space, like in a trance.  
  
"Man... what are you anyway..." Harlan stared at her incredulously.  
  
"She's an implant..."  
  
Everyone turned to Goddard who was staring at the ship. "Or something like one....a cybernetic implant...." He took his eyes from the screen and then turned to everyone. "Meaning... she can plug into a computer and send and receive any information from it."  
  
"Which is why I can do that!" Freya was suddenly very cheery. She giggled lightly at everyone.   
  
"Freya... can you tell us why that guy is after you?" Harlan asked her as he stared at her. She had changed mannerisms entirely.  
  
"Well....I can't really remember why.... Maybe it's because I can do this!" She suddenly turned into water on the floor and expanded to be ankle deep in the command post, but it didn't go into the hallway. Then, the water shrank into a tiny puddle and started to form into Freya. She smiled. She started to walk forward, but tripped on something and landed on Bova. "OOPS! Sorry!"  
  
"What is going on here.... She wasn't like this before..." Harlan speculated as Freya got off of a surprised Bova.  
  
"I'll say.... I may not be able to get up... you'll have to scrape me off the floor now.." Bova said as he got himself up. "She's heavier than she looks!"  
  
"Bova! That wasn't nice!" giggled Rosie.  
  
"OH! I'm so Sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! You poor thing!" She clutched Bova around the shoulders and started to cry.  
  
"I-it's alright...just get off of me...." Bova stammered out as he released himself from Freya.  
  
Everyone stared at Freya now as she wiped her eyes. She looked around and giggled nervously as she played with the device on the nape of her neck. "Why are ya'll staring at me like that?"  
  
"THELMA....?", Goddard stammered out just as THELMA appeared behind him. He almost jumped to the next deck. "GAH!"  
  
"Yes, Commander Goddard...."  
  
"Did you know about the device on Freya?"   
  
THELMA walked over to Freya who was looking blankly at her. "Yes, I did."  
  
"Then why didn't you tell us!" Goddard was getting frustrated.  
  
"You never asked."  
  
Goddard now felt like hitting his head on something very hard. He sighed. "Could you check it to see if it is functioning?"  
  
"Does she even know what to do to it? How to fix it?" Harlan said as he stared at Goddard.  
  
"I just think it's on vacation.", drawled Bova.  
  
"It seems to have shorted out somewhat.", exacted THELMA.  
  
"So... what does that mean?" Radu asked.  
  
"It means that--"  
  
"It means that the line between ditz and intelligent will be crossed back and forth on a regular basis." Suzee came in and looked a bit perturbed at the whole situation.  
  
"Oh yeah... That's right.... Hmmm.... I wonder how long this will last..." Freya looked up at the ceiling and looked as if she was thinking. "Oh well! Ya'll have wonderful me right now as I am!"  
  
  
"Has anyone noticed that the way she talks is similar to a Texas drawl?" Harlan asked as he finished his plate of "food".  
  
"I've never heard one before so I couldn't tell you." Radu said as he too finished eating. He stood up and walked over to the sink.  
  
"I have and it sounds a bit like how she talks. Although the one I heard was a bit heavier than hers." Said Rosie cheerily.  
  
"Where is she anyway.." Bova said as he stuffed a large sandwich into his mouth.  
  
"She's plugged into the engine room computer. She's helping Suzee with the engines and weapons." Radu informed them as he continued to clean his plate and glass.  
  
Harlan grinned at him. "So you've been keeping tabs on her?"  
  
Radu blushed and turned back to the dishes. He was scrubbing very meticulously at one spot on the glass. Harlan's grin got even wider. "Wouldn't Elmira get jealous?"  
  
"So what about what you said about her weight, Bova?" Rosie asked.  
  
"Like I said... she's heavier than she looks!" He said as he gulped down more food.  
  
"So... she must be like Radu then, huh?"  
  
"It's probably because she's made of water. Water when made to fit into a smaller shape gets really dense and heavy." Said Radu.  
  
"True... I guess that could be one way of looking at it. Then that would make her just as strong as you, Radu.." Rosie smiled.  
  
"That's just what we need.... another danger aboard the ship." Goddard had walked in looking rather grim.   
  
  
Freya tinkered with the implant device on her neck with some kind of screwdriver. She was plugged into the computer so she could know what she was doing. "Let's see...um... hmmmm...."  
  
"These schematics are great! We have more power to our engines!" Suzee was getting excited as she looked through everything.  
  
"You ought to recalibrate yer shields as well....I saw small fissures through out the ship earlier...." Freya informed as she tweaked another part of the device. She jumped slightly and then giggled. "OOPS!"  
  
Suzee shook her head and sighed. "Hard to believe that you helped do this."  
  
"Oh really...?" Freya gave Suzee an evil smile and turned back to the screw driver.  
  
"Why is it that you sound like your IQ dropped twenty points when you talk.....?" Suzee said with a smirk.  
  
Freya flashed her an evil grin and walked away stopping at the door. "You want to break for lunch?"  
  
Suzee raised an eyebrow at her and smiled. "Um... sure!"  
  
They got into the hallway when Freya stopped. She put her hand behind her head and her eyes went red. "Damn it! They're getting bigger!"  
  
"What are."  
  
"The fissures. We'll have to boost the Christa's healing system in order to fix them."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
Freya ran back into the Engine Room and plugged herself in. "Come on... it'll be fun!"  
  
  
"Uh.... Harlan.... There seems to be more of them coming...", Rosie said from her station.  
  
"Oh shit...." Harlan jumped to his console and started trying to make the crystals move.  
  
"Harlan get us out of here now!" Goddard barked.  
  
The Christa's newfound engine power started up and she flew off.  
  
  
"Admiral Chen....please come in..."  
  
Admiral Chen woke up from his coma and looked around his ship. It was damaged from the fight, but not severely. He tapped the comm button and sat up in his chair. "Yes..."  
  
"We got yor distress signal sir... Are you badly damaged..."   
  
Chen looked himself over and then the readout of the ship. "No.."  
  
"Did you succeed in attaining the target..."   
  
Chen sighed as he slumped in his seat. "No..."  
  
"Hang on.... We're teleporting you on board...."  
  
Then, he didn't see his ship any more. He stood in the command room of the other ship. An officer stood and bowed to him. "Admiral Chen..."  
  
"At ease..."  
  
"Sir... The ship known as the Christa has flown out of our sightings.... Should we pursue...." Said another officer.  
  
"Engage...." 


	4. Getting To Know You

A/N: Okay.... I know I haven't updated this thing in a while, but I've been doing Harry Potter stuffs.... So it's much more understandable that I'm now updating this thing because I'm too busy drawing first year for Harriet and I have finished seventh year for Harry.  
  
I just want to say... thank you to all who reviewed on this story. To those of you who don't wish to give up any reviews.... get stuffed! ::joking:: I really want reviews!  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Four  
  
  
  
  
  
"I think we're a sufficient distance away...." said Goddard. He wiped the sweat off of his face.  
  
Harlan stopped the ship and walked away from the console. "That was close! I thought for sure they would see us...."  
  
"Don't be too sure about that..." came Suzee's voice.  
  
Suzee was standing in the corridor with Freya beside her. Freya was playing with her green hair absent-mindedly. She was humming something unknown to herself. "What do you mean, Suzee?" asked Harlan.  
  
"Meaning, that if what Freya here has told me of them, they will be coming after us again." Suzee said as she indicated Freya.  
  
Freya looked up. "What? Did I say something?"  
  
Suzee slapped herself in the forehead in frustration. "Freya...." she growled. Freya was beginning to get on her nerves with the constant switching of her personality.  
  
"She's back in ditz mode again...." drawled Bova.  
  
Freya's eyes suddenly went red. She walked toward Radu stiffly. Radu stared at her as she came toward him. "F-Freya...? What are you doing....?"  
  
Then, he noticed that she wasn't looking at him. She was looking above him. He glanced up, but didn't see anything. Then, he saw a small crack in the bulkhead above him. "The virus is getting worse...." she said.  
  
"Virus? What virus....." asked Goddard. "What are you talking about...."  
  
"The Shekra's most powerful weapon is their ship virus. If they detect that a ship they are fighting has bio-tech systems.... They use it on the ship. It is a virus that tears a ship apart from the inside out." Freya said. Radu was beginning to be afraid of those red eyes of hers.  
  
Then, they became blue again. She smiled at Radu cheerfully. "At any rate, we bolstered Christa's immune system, so it should help her battle the virus...." she giggled.  
  
"I have a question...." said Goddard in his authoritative tone. "Why are those things out there after you....."  
  
Freya stared at Commander Goddard blankly. "Are you addressing me?"  
  
Goddard started feeling a vein throbbing in his forehead. "Yes... I am..."  
  
"Well... what do you want to know?"  
  
She was starting to do it to him again. "I asked why those Shekra people are after you...!" He said through gritted teeth.  
  
Freya stared at him with the same blank look. "Um.... because I'm cute?" She shrugged.  
  
"You mean you don't know?" Goddard said through grinding teeth.   
  
"You know... you could do with a massage or something... you are entirely too high strung...." Freya said with a cheerful smile.  
  
"I AM NOT HIGH STRUNG!" Goddard growled. He started massaging his temples. He then, said a mantra to keep his brain from giving him another migraine. "I'm not going crazy... I am not going crazy..." Then, he walked out of the command room.  
  
"She did it again! She gave the commander a migraine!" Harlan laughed.  
  
  
  
That night, THELMA made the extra bunk in the girls' quarters for Freya. "You have a bed now. Sleep tight!" THELMA said with a smile.  
  
"I know I will!" Freya said cheerfully.  
  
THELMA walked out of the quarters, leaving Rosie, Suzee and Elmira in the room. Suzee sat down on her bed and watched Freya with a suspicious eye. It unnerved her to have this girl in here.  
  
Elmira watched Freya carefully. She sensed something about this girl that she had not anticipated. She couldn't pin point it, however. Then, the cleansing sea washed over her senses again.   
  
"Why are you here....?" Elmira asked.  
  
Freya turned and stared at Elmira blankly. "Is something wrong?"  
  
"No... I was just curious....."  
  
Freya hugged the stuffed animal Rosie had lent her. It was squishy and soft. "I..." Suzee suddenly saw something in her mind. It was coming from the malfunctioning brain of Freya. "I.... um...."  
  
Suzee concentrated on what flashed in her mind. It was like a great sea washing over her, taking her under the water and raising her again. "I don't remember...." Freya said.   
  
"Aw..." Rosie walked over to Freya and patted her on her back. "It's okay... you can sleep with him tonight...." she said as she poked the stuffed animal in Freya's arms.   
  
Freya shook her head and handed the stuffed toy to Rosie. "I'm fine, Rosie... can anyone tell me where Hunter is?"  
  
"What's that?" asked Suzee.  
  
"My pet selcra.... He was on the ship with me...." Freya said. Then, she gasped. "Oh no! What if he burned up with my ship!"  
  
"Are you talking about that cat-monkey thing that Harlan came on board with perched on his head?" asked Suzee.  
  
"Oh good... he's alright, then... but where on this ship could he be....?" Freya said. She jumped down from her bed and started for the door.  
  
"Well... I'm not ready to go to bed yet... I'll help you look..." said Suzee.  
  
"I will too..." said Rosie.  
  
"No... I'll be fine... nothing to worry about!" Freya beamed at them. "Go ahead and go back to bed..."  
  
Suzee still had that nagging feeling that Freya had more going on about her than what she appeared to be. She watched as Freya walked out of the girls' quarters and disappeared. "There's something not quite right about her...." she said.  
  
"I agree...."  
  
Suzee turned to Elmira, who was sitting peacefully on her bunk. She stared at Suzee placidly. "Every time I get near her... I get an image of water washing me away...." Elmira stated.  
  
"That's funny.... I wonder why?" said Rosie.  
  
"I had the same flash when I was trying to probe her mind...." Suzee said. Rosie stared at Suzee oddly. "I know I don't do that.... but there's just something odd about her that she isn't telling us...."  
  
"Or that she can't remember it..." said Rosie.  
  
"Either way... we've got to be careful about her..." Suzee walked to the door and opened it. "I'm going to go out and look for her."  
  
  
  
Freya walked along the corridor. She touched the ship's hull and felt the virus spreading. She sighed. It would take a while for the Christa to battle the virus before they could fully use her.  
  
She heard something down the corridor in front of her. It sounded like the mew of a selcra. She smiled. Hunter would be near. She missed her pet.  
  
She walked along until she came to a door. It looked like the girls' quarters, but she knew she couldn't be back at the door yet. The ship didn't run in a circle.  
  
She opened the door and walked in. The room was a complete disaster zone. "Where am I...." she said. "Hunter? Are you in here?"  
  
"No.... but I am...." came Radu's voice. He sat up in bed and stared at Freya. She was wearing one of the issued pajamas. "What are you doing in here.... If Miss Davenport catches you...." He yawned and rubbed some sleep out of his eyes.  
  
"Who? Oh... you mean the high strung lady with the bob?" Freya said. She came into the room further. "I doubt she could do much to me...."   
  
Freya glanced around the room. Harlan wasn't in his bed and Bova was fast asleep. "Where's that kid, Harlan?"  
  
"No clue... I heard him get up not too long ago and go out the door...." Radu said. He scooted over on his bed and leaned back on his hands.  
  
Freya sat on his bed and pulled her legs up so that she sat Indian style, her hands holding onto her ankles. "I met your girlfriend, Elmira.... she's cute... for a reptile..." Freya said with a grin.  
  
Radu blushed. "Well... she isn't exactly my girlfriend..." Radu regained his composure and coughed.   
  
Freya turned to him. "How old is everyone on board? Where are they from?"   
  
Radu was startled by the question. "Er... well... I'm from Andromeda and how old I am.... well... I've somewhat lost count.... By Earth standards, though... I'm not that old..."  
  
"Oh... well... what about Suzee?"  
  
"Her?", Radu blushed, "Well... I don't know... she never said anything and as far as where she's from... she already said she was from a planet called Yesnid."  
  
"Harlan?"  
  
"Why don't you just plug into the computer and find out? Or ask THELMA... she'll tell you..." Radu suddenly thought of something. "Why are you asking anyway...."  
  
"Call it curiosity...."  
  
Radu considered her. "What about you... can you calculate how old you are in Earth years?"  
  
"I don't have a standard...., but... If I..." She turned to Radu and stared at him. He felt something in his mind and he immediately shut her out. She grimaced. "Don't worry... I won't peek into your private thoughts... I'm surprised, though... you've gotten really good at shutting me out...."  
  
Radu regarded her a moment. Then, he sighed. "All right... go ahead..."  
  
The sensation came into his brain again. Her blue eyes, like water, seemed to seep into his own. He felt as though he was getting a nice shower inside his head. Then, almost as soon as it started, it disappeared. He shook his head a moment to bring himself back into reality.  
  
"Fifteen...."  
  
Radu stared at her. "What?"  
  
"The Earth moves almost the same speed as my own planet, so it wasn't too hard for me to calculate the time. According to the Earth's rotation and the calender they use, I am Fifteen..." she said.  
  
Then, suddenly, a blue cat like creature jumped up onto Freya's shoulders. It purred as it nuzzled her neck. "Hunter! There you are!"  
  
"This is Hunter? That's that strange thing we brought aboard when we brought you here...." Radu said. Upon closer inspection, Radu saw that Hunter had scales on his neck and feet.  
  
"Don't worry... he won't bite you..." Freya coaxed Radu. She took one of his hands and placed it on Hunter. "Go on and pet him...."  
  
Radu patted the creature. The cat thing purred and it's tail lazily swept around Freya. "He's much nicer to me now than he was when I came aboard your ship..."  
  
Freya gazed at Radu. "What did you think of my ship?"  
  
Radu looked up at her and blushed. "U-Um... I-I....I guess you could say it was n-nice.... I.. I mean there were only a bunch of wires sparking and you were passed out on your console completely drenched. There was a fire and smoke... I couldn't see too clearly...." Radu stammered out.  
  
She was silent. She just stared into space like it was the most interesting thing in the galaxy. Radu realized that she wasn't acting as she had been. She wasn't ditzy like she was that afternoon. What is she hiding..., he thought.  
  
"Suzee's lookin' for me... That girl just doesn't trust me..." Freya said in irritation. A smile played across her lips suddenly. "Maybe she thinks I'm going to take you and Harlan away from her....." She leaned in close to Radu.  
  
"U-Um..." Radu started to say something, but thought better of it. He leaned back to widen the gap that she was trying to close between them. "I'm sure she's just curious about where you were going...."  
  
The grin widened. She leaned in closer to him. He scooted back until his head hit the bulkhead. Then, almost too quickly, she kissed the tip of his nose and jerked back. Harlan had walked in when she got off of Radu's bed.  
  
He grinned at Radu. "Really... And should I congratulate you now, or later, Radu....?"  
  
Radu was shaking. He glared at Harlan as Freya walked past him, ramming her shoulder into his. Harlan massaged his shoulder in pain, but kept his grin. "Should I tell Elmira now or later about your new girlfriend....?"  
  
Radu glared at Harlan. "Oh.. Shut up!"  
  
"No... seriously! What did you do while sleeping beauty here snored away...?" Harlan said as he got onto his bunk and indicated Bova.  
  
"She was just asking me questions... Like... how old we all are..." Radu said as he laid down in his bed.  
  
"And?"  
  
"I told her that she should go look into the computer..." Radu growled.  
  
"I wonder how old she is...." Harlan said. "Like it matters, though... her planet could have inhabitants like you... grow old quickly."  
  
"She's fifteen... and she said her planet's rotation period is similar to yours..." Radu said sharply. He pulled the blanket up over his head. It was uncomfortable, but he didn't feel like being questioned by the Cheshire cat in the next bunk.  
  
"So... did she kiss you good night or something?" Harlan grinned at the back of Radu. He didn't even need to see Radu. He knew that he was turning about as red as an apple right now.  
  
"N-No!" Radu hunkered into his blanket even more. "N-Now... Go to sleep!"  
  
"Sure... Radu.... Whatever...." 


	5. Shake, Rattle and KABOOM!

A/N: This is getting increasingly difficult to do.... I need to watch Space Cases again! ARGH! I need to be able to watch Radu and Harlan bicker! I must have all of the crew at my every beck and call, damn it! I need to watch this show again!  
  
There is something severely wrong with me. I still have a small crush on Radu... He's just so... ADORABLE. The kid that played him wasn't that bad lookin' either. I liked that episode where Radu became human. It was the first time I had ever seen the actor without all the make-up. After that... my Radu obsession began.  
  
And no... I don't remember where Miss Davenport and Commander Goddard slept... so bear with me. Same goes with Elmira. If it's wrong, as I'm sure it is.... don't say a word.. Or.. Give me a URL for an information site and a new computer.  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Five  
  
  
  
  
  
Admiral Chen waited patiently as his second frantically searched for the Christa. "Find anything, Commander?"  
  
"No sir.... The Christa disappeared off our charts...."  
  
Chen didn't want to hear that. He growled at the commander. "Find them! I want that girl alive...."  
  
"Yes sir..."  
  
Chen suddenly got an idea. "Can you track certain codes and signals?" He leaned on his fist and stared at the officer.   
  
The officer gulped nervously and tapped the controls. To his surprise, something came up in the positive. "Yes sir... the code or signal you want to track....?"  
  
"F..R...A...Y...zero... zero...nine..."  
  
"Yes sir...."  
  
Admiral Chen leaned back in his command chair. He smiled as something came up on the sensors. He would soon find her.  
  
  
  
Suzee knocked on the door of the boys' quarters. They opened and she saw Harlan sitting up in bed. Radu and Bova were asleep. Harlan smiled at her and yawned. "Hello, Suzee... What brings you here....?"  
  
"I was wondering if you have seen Freya...." she said. She shifted her weight on her feet nervously.  
  
"Yeah... I saw her... she was in here talking to Radu when I came in. Gave him a nice little kiss and everything...." he said with a devious grin.  
  
"She did not!" growled Radu from under his covers.  
  
Suzee wasn't pleased. She narrowed her eyes at Harlan and shook her head. "Sorry for waking you... good night..." She smiled.  
  
"Wait, Suzee..."  
  
Suzee stopped in the doorway. Her breath seemed to stop as well. Harlan came up behind her. He didn't say anything for several moments. She didn't turn, for fear of him seeing pink slowly creep into her cheeks.  
  
Then, Harlan gulped and grinned nervously. "Ah... um... Good Night, Suzee..."  
  
Then, the doors closed as soon as Suzee stepped out. Suzee could hear Catalina screaming at her inside her head. Things about how Harlan was hers and she couldn't have him. Catalina could be infuriating at times.  
  
She calmed herself down and started walking. "Now... where would I go if I were a malfunctioning twit with a furball...." Suzee had an idea. "Where the other malfunctioning twit is...."  
  
Then, she jumped into a jumptube, hoping that she would come out at the right destination instead of falling into some strange pit no one ever heard about on the ship.  
  
  
  
"You're really pathetic, you know that..." Radu said irritably to Harlan who he was walking behind. Harlan had dragged Radu out of bed to go find Suzee. "You had her there and you could have said... oh... I don't know... anything!"  
  
"And what about you, oh so shy one!? You have this perfect girl, who may be a reptile, but she's at least cute! Why don't you ever do anything with her...." Harlan growled. "Then, there's Freya.... she practically throws herself at you and you basically walk away...."  
  
"N-No I don't!" Radu stammered. His cheeks started burning again.  
  
"Well, then don't talk about what I should've done!" Harlan hissed at him.  
  
They walked in silence for about a minute. "She doesn't throw herself at me, you know... she just is there...."  
  
"Oh is that what you call it.... It looked to me like she was tossing plenty of herself in your direction...." Harlan said with a devious grin.  
  
"Oh shut up!"  
  
Suddenly, the ship shook roughly. Harlan and Radu were tossed into a bulkhead. Harlan tasted blood in his mouth. It trickled out of the corner of his mouth. His head hurt horrendously as well.  
  
"Radu... are you okay...?" Harlan choked out. Then, he saw it. It was a massive crack in the bulkhead, matched by other small cracks. The ship looked as though it were trying to tear itself apart.  
  
The stunned body of Radu twitched. His head moved and the curly mass of blonde hair came up with it. Radu rubbed his head where he had hit it. "Ow... what happened...."  
  
"Harlan! Radu! Bova! Rosie!" came Suzee's voice of the intercom. "I need help in engineering! The ship is tearing apart! I repeat! The ship is tearing apart!"  
  
  
  
Freya stumbled into the bridge. Hunter jumped off of her and ran over toward the command console and disappeared. Freya ran over to find him. "Hunter! Where did you go!"  
  
"I REPEAT! THE SHIP IS TEARING APART!" came Suzee's voice over the intercom.  
  
Freya had only enough time to brace herself a massive shudder wracked the ship. The view screen came on. The same gaunt man with the spines appeared on it. He grinned maliciously at her. "Hello, Freya.... having a nice time over there....?"  
  
"Dude... don't you ever give up? I told you once and I ain't gonna say it again! Go away!" she growled at him.  
  
"I'm sure you all are having fun with the virus your friends' ship now has...." There was a demented gleam in his eyes.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about.... I was having a nice stroll around the command deck..." Freya smiled innocently.  
  
Chen wasn't amused. He grimaced at Freya angrily. "Come, come... I'm sure you have some kind of inkling that your friends' ship is now a death trap...."  
  
"No clue..."  
  
Chen was looking a bit desperate. "But... what about the shuddering and the quivering... there's supposed to be quivering!"  
  
Just then, Radu and Harlan fell out of the jumptube in the hall and ran onto the bridge. They saw Chen on the screen and growled. "What are you doing back!" Harlan growled at Chen menacingly.  
  
Chen seemed to regain his composure. "I know your friends don't know... but I know you do.... you know what is happening to their ship..."  
  
Radu glanced over at Freya. Her face was set in an angry glare. Harlan spoke again. "We know what's going on... Freya already told us about that weapon you used on her ship...."  
  
Chen sneered at Harlan. "Really, now... Then, I'm sure you don't need me to say any more about it...." He turned to Freya with an ever increasing grin. "If you want your friends to survive, Freya... surrender..."  
  
Harlan growled. "You can't hurt us!"  
  
"On the contrary, little boy... I can..." Admiral Chen gave that smile that had the uncanny resemblance to a serial killer's. "The clock is ticking, Fray... I'm sure you'll make the right choice soon enough...." Then, the view screen blinked off.  
  
Freya slumped against the command console defeated. She had an idea of what was happening to the Christa. She cursed silently to herself at her own arrogance.  
  
"Freya... Freya..." Radu said to her. She looked up at him and sighed. "What is happening... I thought you told us that you and Suzee boosted the ship's immune system to fight the virus....."  
  
Harlan now turned around and saw the defeated vision of Freya on the ground. She gulped and then spoke. "I thought I had figured out how to get rid of the virus.... He must have tweaked it somehow...." she said.  
  
"What do you mean....?" Radu asked her. He crouched down to talk to her.  
  
"The...." She breathed in deeply. "The only way it could be killing the Christa now... is that it mutated.... It must have a compensating system...."  
  
"Why didn't you tell us this before...." came the irritated voice of Suzee. She had walked into the command room.   
  
"I just now realized it...." Freya gave her a glare.  
  
There was silence in the room. Then, Freya stood up. "We've got to compensate for the mutation...." Her face lit up like a light. "I'm sure we can do it!"  
  
Suzee gave an irritated glare. "Right... you told us that it compensates for the compensations... uh.. Wait.. I'm talking like you, now..."  
  
"If we don't kill the virus, then I'll have to surrender myself over to Spine-Head! I'm not about to kill you all, but I don't want to have to do what he wants me to...." Freya said.  
  
Radu suddenly blushed and Harlan shoved his fist into his mouth. Suzee and Freya glared at them both. "STOP THINKING LIKE THAT!"  
  
"What does he want you to do... Why are they after you...." Suzee asked her. Freya gave her a side glance. It was the one question she continually avoided.  
  
"He wants me... I'm a sort of weapon for him... He could use me to penetrate any station... to hack into any system...." Freya sighed. "There were others before me.... I'm just the ninth to get the implant."   
  
She lifted up her hair and leaned forward. Radu walked over and looked closely at it. He saw a number on it written in red. "Fray.. Zero zero nine...."  
  
"So that's why he called you Fray...." Harlan stated in realization. "And here I thought it was some sort of nick-name."  
  
"It would be... She seems to be a magnet for trouble...." Suzee said with a smile.  
  
"No.. We are the magnet for trouble...." said Harlan. "In case you hadn't noticed, she fell in OUR collective laps!"  
  
"Not that you minded it..." Suzee quipped.  
  
"They make a cute couple, don't you think, Radu?" Freya said with a smirk.  
  
Harlan and Suzee gaped at her. "WE DO NOT!"  
  
Then, the ship gave a mighty shudder that threw Suzee into Harlan's arms. Radu and Freya held eachother to their spot, but it really wasn't necessary. "Uh.. Right! Suzee, Freya! You two go down into the engine room and sort out this problem... Radu.. I'll need you to help me with getting the other's awake..." Harlan barked.  
  
  
  
"Admiral Chen.... Why are you giving them so much time... they'll figure it out eventually.." said the second officer.  
  
Chen smiled at the boy. He was too fresh to know how to deal with a case like Freya. She was special. She had a soft spot for these people and that was her weakness. He planned to exploit it as much as possible.  
  
He tapped his chair lazily. It was going to be fun for him when he finally took the girl with him. He could kill the others when she was on board. Then, he realized that she wouldn't cooperate if he did that. He gritted his teeth in frustration.  
  
"Admiral Chen....?" The officer chimed in on his thoughts.  
  
Chen glanced over and glared at the boy. "Yes.... lieutenant.?"  
  
The boy gulped. He was really a commander. He didn't wish to be bumped down in rank. "Never mind..." he squeaked.  
  
Chen sneered at him. "Good..."  
  
  
  
Harlan hooked up the jumper cables to Bova's antennae. Harlan ran over to the switch and grinned. This was his favorite part. "Five... Four... Three... Two...ONE!"   
  
He punched the button and three thousand volts of electricity surged into the cable. Bova jerked and shook from the wattage. Then, Harlan switched the power flow off.  
  
Bova knocked the cables off of him. Then, he yawned. "Is it time for breakfast yet...?"  
  
"No time, Bova... We've got an emergency on our hands... I need you to get to your post on the command deck." Harlan said.  
  
"As always... The fate of the universe is in our hands..." Bova drawled. He jumped out of bed and got dressed.  
  
  
  
Radu walked into the girl's quarters and found Rosie already dressed. She was trying to wake up Miss Davenport. "Miss Davenport... wake up... Suzee needs us..."  
  
"Leave her... she'll want to miss this, Rosie..." Radu stated as he walked over to Miss Davenport. She was snoring.  
  
"Where are needed, Radu...?" Rosie asked.  
  
"Harlan wants us on the command Deck... come on!" Radu started for the door. Rosie ran after him. The ship made another shudder. Rosie was thrown into Radu.   
  
Rosie hurt along her back from the blow. "Owie..." she whimpered.  
  
Radu helped her to her feet. "Come on, Rosie... we need to get going..." Then, they started running down the corridor. 


	6. Shock Absorbant

A/N: I need to get some new disks. My brain is trying to give you everything it can. It's really kind of interesting. An Engineer and a computer hacker. What a nice pair, don'tcha think? Not that way! ::sweatdrop:: (That would be Suzee and Freya to those of you who didn't figure that out. Just a little heads up... ^.^)  
  
Anyway.... I hope ya'll are having fun with this... it's about to be over really soon. What are your favorite pairs in this anyway... just curious. I'm really curious to see if anybody actually reads these notes. From what I can tell, ya'll don't.  
  
So I can safely say that if you know a skater boy by the name of Aaron Marcks, ask him he remembers a slightly psychotic girl-next-door who was friends with an equally psychotic girl named Andrea Istas.   
  
Now... I go to my favorite song complimented with a nice picture for me to drool over.  
  
::sings::  
All I want for Christmas is Elijah Wood, Elijah Wood, Elijah Wood....  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Six  
  
  
  
  
  
Freya hooked herself into the Christa's computer. She knew the risk she was taking. She could accidentally get infected with the virus. "Eww... It's like watching a petri dish explode over with bacteria." she grimaced at the images she was receiving from the computer.  
  
Suzee was underneath the console. "It looks even worse under here..." Suzee grunted as she worked. "Wires are everywhere.... There's some kind of white crust on everything... It's like being in the Pit."  
  
"The Pit?"   
  
"That's one of the various nick names given to the boys' room." Suzee explained. She rolled out from under the console. "How is everything....?"  
  
"Swell... I think I'm going to contract the damned virus if we don't kill it soon..." Freya said through gritted teeth.  
  
Suzee shook her head at Freya. "Why don't you just hook off of there and help me under here? It'll be safer..."  
  
"And you know this how....?" Freya said with a devious glint in her eyes. "Besides... It'll hurt my pride if I hook off... I'm here, I might as well finish what I started...."  
  
"You're a psychopath, you know that...?" Suzee said with a smile.  
  
"Yeah.. Well I'm your psychopath now..." Freya shot back. "Let's get back to work."  
  
  
  
"Why are they just sitting there..." growled Commander Goddard. "It makes me nervous that they don't do anything....."  
  
"They have already hit us.. That virus is destroying the ship..." said Harlan with glance at Goddard. "They're waiting for Freya to surrender..."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because she is a weapon for that Admiral on that ship in front of us." Radu said.  
  
"We're doomed..." Bova drawled.  
  
"She's a hacker..." said Harlan. "That's why she has that device on her neck."  
  
Goddard started putting things together now. "She can walk through walls by just turning herself into water. She can hook into any computer that you get in front of her.... It makes sense.... She would make one hell of a hacker..."  
  
"I wonder why he wants her to do that?" asked Rosie.  
  
"Any world that the Shekra are in combat with would be an easy target with a few people like Freya on hand disabling the computers and what not..." said Goddard.  
  
"But why just her..." Bova drawled. "Surely he's got a few more of them."  
  
"That's something for Freya to answer... if she can remember it..." Radu stated.  
  
  
  
"Admiral.... my sensors are picking up unusual transmissions going on inside of the Christa." said the communications officer.   
  
"Relay them to me...." Chen said silkily.  
  
The officer put the transmissions on the speaker. It was almost a gibberish. Then, there were two voices talking. A boy and a girl. Admiral Chen smiled. Freya was talking to one of the children on the ship.  
  
"I need power, girls..." said the boy.  
  
"I can't give you guys anymore than what I recelebrated." said the girl. "Just try using what you can..."  
  
"We need more power..." said another voice that had not spoken before. "The armor is almost gone from the virus attacking everything." It was another boy. He sounded tired.  
  
"Suzee... just get the virus killed while we figure out the bridge, okay?" said the first voice. Chen realized it wasn't Freya speaking.  
  
"Turn it off...." Admiral Chen growled. The speakers went silent. He thumbed the arm of his chair.   
  
"Sir... they're trying to defeat the virus...." said the second in command.  
  
Chen glared at the boy and the boy went silent. "They won't defeat it.... It mutates as they shoot it with whatever they've got...." he said.  
  
"But sir--"  
  
"Enough! Stay silent or I'll throw you in the brig!" Chen growled. "Then, you'll have to face the Inquisitor...." The second went silent.  
  
  
  
"I've got an idea!" called Freya from the console. She had unhooked herself from the computer. Suzee jumped off the ladder that she was on.   
  
"What have you got, Freya...?" Suzee said as she ran over to her.  
  
"I'll need you to go to the infirmary and wait for further instructions. I'll relay everything to the computer in there.... THELMA can help you find the things...." Freya said as she manipulated the crystals under her hands.  
  
Suzee raised an eyebrow. She was bout to counter this, but thought better of it. "Okay... that's the best we've got, so I'll go!" Then, Suzee disappeared out of the Engine room.  
  
Suzee jumped into the nearest jumptube and put in her destination. She raced through it and found herself on the deck in front of the cafeteria. She growled and hit the controls again. Then, she jumped into the tube.  
  
When she came out, she found herself on the level with the infirmary. "We've GOT to find a better system of transportation!" she growled as she walked in.  
  
She looked around. She found the computer and went to it. "I need THELMA as well..."  
  
THELMA appeared right behind Suzee causing her to jump. "GAH!"  
  
"You all always say that when I come...." THELMA said with a blank smile.  
  
The monitor on the wall blinked on. Freya could be seen manipulating a would be camera that was above her. "Testing... Testing... Anybody there?"  
  
"We can hear you...." said Suzee. "What do you need us to do?"  
  
"Okay... Listen up, 'cause I'm only gonna say it all once....."  
  
  
  
Admiral Chen was getting suspicious of what they were doing. He still held the conversation he had heard running through his head. "They're going to try to hit us with whatever they've got, but surely they know that it's useless...." He said to himself.  
  
"Sir... I'm registering some kind of disturbance..." said the communications officer. "They seem to have been able to get their armor back...."  
  
Chen leaned forward. He waved his hand dismissively. "It's trivial... they won't last much longer if she doesn't surrender to us soon....." He grinned that serial killer grin. He looked like he just ordered a contract killing.  
  
  
  
When Suzee had finished, she found that she had in her hand a syringe for injecting a ship with anything. "Where the hell did you get schematics for something like this?" She said as she scratched her head in confusion.  
  
"From you... and your files...." came Freya's voice. She sounded a little like she was embarrassed. Suzee briefly wondered what she read in there. "I'm a hacker, not an engineer."  
  
"I see... Thanks THELMA for helping me..." Suzee said to THELMA.  
  
"You are welcome...." THELMA said with that blank smile of hers. Then, she started for the door with her usually awkward gate.  
  
"All right... now... I can't speak over the computers, so I'm going to have to use m mind to give you the instructions...." Freya intoned on Suzee.  
  
"Wh-What? What do you me--" A torrent of water washed over Suzee's senses. It was like she was swimming in a stormy ocean. Suddenly, she saw light. Then, she heard Freya inside of her mind. Make some antibiotics using these ingredients....  
  
Suzee was rushed to her senses, but she still felt a little like she was in the ocean, though it was more calm than before. She worked diligently as she used things that seemed to pop out at her. Soon, she would be finished.  
  
  
  
Admiral Chen had enough of waiting for Freya to decide her friends' fate. She had bothered him long enough. At least he would have fun destroying the Christa since she had her armor back.  
  
"Lieutenant! Ready the guns! I'm tired of waiting...." he growled.  
  
The lieutenant jumped into action. He worked his console with speed then, he worked to get the Christa in his sights. "Ready, sir...!"  
  
"Fire...."   
  
  
  
"Harlan! Commander! We've got a missile headed for us!" shouted Bova.  
  
"Brace for impact!" Commander Goddard shouted. He was too late, though. The Christa rocked and shook as it took the hit. Goddard and Harlan were thrown across the room. Bova had managed to hold onto his console as did Radu. Rosie hit her head on her console.  
  
"Rosie! Are you alright?!" Radu shouted.  
  
She didn't respond. Bova, who was closest to her, ran over to her. He checked her pulse and looked at the bump on her head. "She's been knocked out...."  
  
"Bova! We need you at your post!" Goddard barked as he got to his feet. Another attack hit the ship, sending Goddard on his back again. "ARGH!"  
  
"Do we have weapons, Bova?" growled Harlan as he got to the command console.  
  
"No... They're still at almost zero power level...." Bova said.  
  
"Come on, Suzee.... Get those weapons back...." Harlan muttered to himself.  
  
  
  
Suzee readied the syringe. Inside her mind, she knew she had to run back to the engine room. She stuck the syringe and the two capsules in her belt and ran to the nearest jumptube.   
  
She hit the panel on the jumptube and jumped into it. She fell through it and then, she hit floor. She looked around and saw that she had landed in the docking air locks. Her head still felt as though she was in water.   
  
Suzee growled and jumped into the jumptube, hitting the panel on her way in. She hit the ground again, but this time she on the engineering level. The Engine room would be a few meters away.  
  
She ran into the Engine Room and found Freya punching a few crystals in frustration. Suddenly, Suzee felt the waves disappear. She was alone in her head once again.  
  
Freya turned to Suzee. "Your boy toy has been buggin' me for the past few minutes, you mind giving me a hand?"  
  
Suzee took the syringe and put in a capsule. The ground beneath her gave a great lurch. She stumbled and Freya caught her. The intercom sprang to life again. "Armor is almost gone! We need weapons, Suzee!" Harlan was sounding even more frantic than Suzee felt.  
  
"Suzee! Stick in the syringe!" Freya shouted.  
  
"Where?! There's nothing to stick!" Suzee growled.  
  
"In the main engine! Anything with organic material!" Freya shouted.   
  
Suzee saw an area of organic material. Around the giant crystal, there was more than just metal keeping it safe. Suzee stuck the specialized syringe into the engine walls and hit the button. It released the special fluid into it.  
  
"Ready the other one!" Freya shouted. She was punching buttons on the main console. "I'm keeping her busy!"  
  
Suzee shook with adrenaline. She put the second capsule in. "Ready!"  
  
"Stick her!"  
  
Suzee shoved the fluid into Christa. The ground, that had been quaking with tremors, had stopped moving. Freya, who was breathing hard, flashed a smile. She grabbed a wire and stuck it into her implant. "Systems seems to be going back to normal..."  
  
"What was that stuff...." Suzee said as she wiped the sweat from her brow and stood.   
  
"I analyzed the organisms attacking the ship and started looking through THELMA's memory before I unhooked myself. That was how I knew to fix up the stuff... your files had the syringe diagrams in it...." Freya said with another flash of a smile.  
  
The ship lurched again. Suzee was thrown to the floor in an instant. "We forgot about that Admiral Chen!" Suzee growled. She got to her feet and ran over to Freya. "We've got to get weapons back...."  
  
She shoved Freya aside. Then, started rerouting power to weapons. "Bova! You've got weapons now!"  
  
"Thanks, Suzee!" he said through the computer.  
  
  
  
"We've got weapons, Harlan!" Bova shouted.  
  
"Fire away, Mr. Bova!" growled Commander Goddard.  
  
  
  
The Christa's forward guns splayed across the endless sea of space. Admiral Chen's ship was hit multiple times. Admiral Chen growled as the entire ship shook. "Sir! They've got weapons back!" said the commander.  
  
"Shoot back, damn it! What are you people waiting for!" Chen growled.  
  
The Christa's forward guns fired again. Chen's ship shuddered again before the lieutenant could fire. Chen was thrown from his chair. He hit the floor with a splat.  
  
  
  
On the Christa, Commander Goddard was hyperventilating as he tried to stay in one spot. "Damn it! We need more than the forward guns to get rid of these guys!" He growled.  
  
  
  
"I've got an idea!" said Suzee.  
  
"Well? What?" Freya said with a glance at Suzee.  
  
"Are you hooked into the computer?"  
  
"Yeah... what are you thinking...? I don't like that look on your face... yer creepin' me out..." Freya said as she tried to scoot away from a grinning Suzee.  
  
"Get into weapons... I want you to feed power into them... meanwhile... I'm about to perform a miracle..." Suzee said as she grabbed a screw driver and ran deeper into the engine room.  
  
  
  
"We've got...." Bova was dumbfounded. He stared at the read outs and saw that the weapons were getting more power into them. Even the other guns were back. "We've got more weapon power, sir..."  
  
Commander Goddard walked over to the command console. "Bova... E--"  
  
"No wait! Let me, sir... I've been wanting to do this..." Harlan intervened.  
  
Goddard sighed then nodded. Harlan struck a defiant pose and glared at the menacing ship. "End this..." he growled.  
  
Bova rolled his eyes at Harlan and punched the appropriate buttons. Instead of seeing the forward guns going off.... a strange blue light came out of no where and flew towards Chen's ship.   
  
  
  
Chen saw the light headed for his ship. Blood trickled out of his mouth from one of the hits he sustained. He glared at the console in front of him. He knew what had been launched. It was a torpedo and it was heading straight for Chen.  
  
He got to his feet as fast as he could, but flew forward as the torpedo hit one of the vital systems. The ship lurched under the impact.   
  
  
  
"Launch another one of those things!" Commander Goddard shouted.  
  
Bova gave a shrug and hit the crystals again. Another blue light shot out from the Christa. It hit Chen's ship and they all saw something like electricity surging around the ship.  
  
Suddenly, the ship exploded. In a blinding flash, Chen's ship blew up. Harlan was knocked away from his console. The Christa shuddered from the blast. He hadn't thought bout moving it away.  
  
Bova was shot away from his console by a massive electrical surge. He hit the wall behind him as his console spark and sputtered.   
  
Radu ran over to him. His hair was standing on end and his eyes were rolling. "Are you alright, Bova?" Radu asked frantically.  
  
Bova gave a great yawn. "I think I should have breakfast soon...."  
  
Commander Goddard grinned at Harlan. "Take us away from here, Harlan..."  
  
"Aye, commander..." Harlan manipulated the crystals and the Christa moved away. Her sails contracted t her body and her head scrunched in. Then, she was off in a flash.  
  
After letting the Christa jump for a couple of minutes, Harlan deactivated the jump drive. The Christa flew on a leisurely pace now.  
  
"Nice work, Suzee..." he said into the intercom. There was no response. He tried again. "Suzee?.... Freya....?" Again, there was only static. Harlan was getting extremely worried. "Suzee?... Suzee, Freya... answer me!"  
  
Radu watched Harlan as he frantically hit the console to get a response. Radu was getting anxious as well. Bova, Rosie and Commander Goddard could only watch and wait. They all did.  
  
"Suzee here... we had a bit of a problem with the computer. It shorted out again..." came Suzee's breathless voice. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. "I'll be in the infirmary with Freya..."  
  
  
  
In the Infirmary, Commander Goddard and Rosie consoled a badly shaken Miss Davenport. THELMA had treated her cuts that she had received when she fell out of bed and was hit with the debris.  
  
Harlan and Radu talked to Suzee. Freya was passed out on a bed. "W-What happened to her down there...." Radu said.  
  
"She was hooked into the computer boosting the power levels to the front and secondary guns. She took most of the electrical surge...." Suzee said. "She should be fine though..." She said with a smile.  
  
Harlan smiled at Suzee. She smirked at him. "It seems that you were worried about me when I didn't answer...." she said.  
  
Harlan's smiled crawled away. Then, it came back with a devious glint in his eyes. "What if I was...?"  
  
"Maybe you check that ego more often... It's beginning to take up most of the room in your head.... You won't be able to make those REALLY BIG decisions..." Suzee said sarcastically. Then, she walked over to Radu.  
  
THELMA was poking one of her fingers into the implant on Freya's neck. Sparks flew and Freya only twitched. "What's wrong with her, THELMA...?"  
  
"She has taken quite a lot of electricity... She is not responding to me...." THELMA said with that blank expression.  
  
Radu knelt down next to the bed and stared at her face. He was thinking. Then, he heard her eyelashes twitch. She opened her eyes and gazed up at THELMA and Suzee. Radu stood up and looked down at her.  
  
"Are you alright, Freya?" asked Suzee.  
  
Freya didn't answer. She just looked blankly at them. She looked over at Radu and stared blankly at him. "Who are you all?"  
  
"Uh oh... It looks like the surge screwed with her memory..." Harlan said.  
  
"Do you know who you are?" asked Suzee.  
  
"Who am I?" Freya said.  
  
"The ditz is back...." Bova drawled.  
  
"This is going to take a long time...." Suzee sighed. 


End file.
